Too Many Books, Not Enough Time

Monday, March 11, 2013

I wasn’t planning on blogging about the E.L. James series until a recent
conversation with a friend. She asked me if I’d read the books.

Yes.” I admitted with a slightly guilty smile. In my defense, however,
I read the print versions and did not find it necessary to conceal the highly-recognizable
covers.

“I couldn’t make it past the first one.” My friend shared with an
equally sheepish face.

I

pondered her words. While I could understand why she felt that way, I
thought that she should read all 3 books before writing the entire series off. And
I told her so.

“Why?” My friend is nothing if not practical.

My short answer: I thought that Ana and Christian’s journey was interesting.

Okay, the sex wasn’t bad either.

After our conversation, I got to wondering if I could explain the
strange fascination—dare, I say fever—with
James’ series? Certainly the Fifty Shades trilogy has spun the women of this
country into “a state of nervous excitement or agitation.” (Yes, I googled the
definition of “fever” to make sure I was using it in context.)

By the time I was curious enough to read Fifty Shades of Grey, the other two books had been published. That
was good. It would have pissed me off to have to wait between the first and second
book. (Spoiler alert—Ana and Christian break up at the end of the first book.) Luckily,
they were only apart for the five minutes or so it took me to pick up Fifty Shades Darker. I read Fifty Shades Freed immediately after and
I am not ashamed to say that I enjoyed the trilogy immensely.

But why?

There’s been a lot written about the subversive effect of these books.
Many readers espouse that James’ books are degrading to women and an unwelcome
return to the “bodice rippers” of the past, i.e., books written by authors like
Catherine Coulter, Johanna Lindsey, and Bertrice Small. Certainly Catherine
Coulter’s writing has evolved. I am a big fan of her Sherlock and Savich FBI
series. Today Coulter’s characters are strong, intelligent, and fully-realized heroines.
As a longtime Lindsey fan, I would say that her writing has changed as well. It’s
been years since she wrote about a pretty young thing being abducted and forced
into sexual slavery—Captive Bride
(1977) and Silver Angel (1988).
Bertrice Small…not so much. Based on a recommendation from my library, I recently
read Bianca: the Silk Merchant’s Daughter.
Bertrice Small still writes a mean “bodice ripper,” however, my taste has
evolved.

Other readers are turned off by the S&M that serves as an important
backbone of the Fifty Shades trilogy. After everything I’d heard about the series,
I was actually surprised by how “vanilla” the S&M turned out to be. One
over-energetic spanking at the end of book one, and Ana immediately breaks it off
with Christian. (So, um, I guess Ana didn’t actually read that sexual contract Christian presented her with at the start
of the relationship.)

Some readers saw Christian’s lifestyle choice as a way to dominate and degrade
the women in his life. I saw the same choice as a defense mechanism for someone
who’d been abused as a boy. Spoiler alert—I was right! Christian was abused as
a child by a drug addict mother and her cohorts, and then again as a teenager by
a blonde Mrs. Robinson. In fact, I guessed early on that the Fifty Shades trilogy
would turn out to be the story of how the innocent Ana saves the sadistic
Christian—not the story of how the sadistic Christian defiles the innocent Anna.

And, along the way, they had some pretty hot sex.

S

o why did I enjoy the Fifty Shadestrilogy so much? Because at its heart, Ana and Christian’s story is the
classic tale about a “good” girl who wins her “bad” boy—and that’s right up my
alley. I just love me some “bad” boy. Now, if we only had more women’s fiction
about the “good” boy who wins his “bad” girl. I find that scenario equally engaging,
and I blame the debacle that was Grease 2
for why the literary world and Hollywood avoids that story.

So, if you’re not a fan of good girls saving bad boys, here are three
other benefits to reading E.L. James Fifty
Shades of Grey trilogy:

1.It gives hope to everyone who writes fan fiction
and has secretly wanted to publish. In fact, the books will likely make you
feel better about your own writing skills.

2.It may just improve your sex life. If you’re like
me, reading a book is often the last thing I do before I go to sleep. (Wink.
Wink. Nudge. Nudge.)

3.It extends the life of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. Love Bella and Edward?
Try Ana and Christian. It’s like Twilight—only with A LOT of sex. In other
words, less starry-eyed gazing and more starry-eyed spanking.

About Me

I love to read. Some would even say I live to read. I've been called an avid reader. I've been called a voracious reader. But perhaps my husband said it best: "You are the only person I know who finishes a book, puts it down, and then immediately picks up another book." What can I say? I feel naked without a book in hand. And after reading (voraciously, I might add) my friend's blog on her love of food, I decided to do something similar. And that's how Too Many Books, Not Enough Time was created. The End.